Monday, October 31, 2011
 
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Red Ribbon Week provided positive events

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[October 31, 2011]  R.ed Ribbon Week provided teachers and students with opportunities for fun, but also for open dialogue about anti-drug activity.

Mount Pulaski Grade School sponsored a "Crazy Day" that allowed teachers and students to wear odd clothes and strange combinations. On Thursday, the school conducted a red balloon launch, creating a red cloud that lifted off from the school playground. An identification tag with a return address was attached to each balloon. The last time the school had a similar launch, one of the balloons was found in New York. Students and staff are hoping for another far-off recovery that will give them a new contact.

Hartsburg-Emden sent balloons into the skies on Friday.

We'll wait to hear from the schools about where the balloons landed.

The Mount Pulaski Grade School staff created a movie short that included input from students and staff. Guidance counselor Terry Dixon interviewed students and teachers with the question, "What would you do with your time instead of doing drugs?" Answers included bake a cake, play ball, study, play games, find things on the computer, go outside and other things that reflected hobbies and individual interests. Thinking about what you like and what you like to do with your spare time is one purpose of Red Ribbon Week.

Another issue was smoking. It was estimated that if someone bought a pack of cigarettes every day for a year, they would spend $1,500. The next question was, "What would you do with $1,500 instead of buying cigarettes?" There were a lot of things students would buy with the money -- a flat-screen TV, a treehouse, 600 packages of Oreos, PlayStation 3, video games, 40 pairs of shoes, Pokemon and baseball cards, just to name a few.

Fourth-grade teacher Mr. Siebert made a CD of the interviews, and students watched it on Friday morning.

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Jefferson Elementary School in Lincoln had several visitors on Friday. Steve Dahm, assistant fire chief, helped students climb into and sit in a fire truck. Firefighter James Reed brought along a prop so students could have pictures taken as if wearing firefighting suits. Paramedic Rob Kelly opened the back of an ambulance and gave students a tour of outside compartments with emergency gear and equipment. Kelly gave each student a coloring book and sticker. A veterinarian from Railsplitter Veterinary brought goody bags for the students and told them about his activity with the animals.

At the end of the school day, there was a contest at Washington-Monroe Elementary School for the best decorated classroom door with an anti-drug message. First place went to Miss Ewing's fifth-grade class, second to Miss Mill's kindergarten and third place to Mrs. Singleton's fourth-grade class.

This is the second year Miss Ewing's class won the Red Ribbon Week decorated door contest. Each student designed their own construction paper bird, and the birds were scattered around the door with a larger bird as their leader. Sending the anti-drug message, the door poster said: "Angry birds say... Do drugs and the game's over."

[By MARLA BLAIR]

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